Fried Potatoes & Eggs (Or Saving Food)

Every time I go on vacation, I get inspired to cook more, because I remember how awesome home-cooked food is (especially my mom’s cooking) and I forget how tired I am when I come home from work.

So, last night, despite my fatigue, I cooked salmon with boiled potatoes (and lots of dill!). As usual, I overestimated the amount of potatoes our little family eats in one sitting, so we ended up with two leftover spuds. I had a fleeting instinct to toss the poor potatoes (thinking: “There’s no way we’ll eat those…”). Then, yet again inspired by my Sweden vacation, I remembered how good fried potatoes taste and I decided to stuff them into a food saver for future consumption.

During my run this morning, I remembered those spuds chilling in my fridge. After much deliberation about the pros and cons of actually attempting to cook breakfast, I decided that I would have fried potatoes topped with a fried egg (and lots of dill!).

It was awesome! Not only did it taste good and warm my tummy, but it kept me feeling satisfied longer than my usual fare of cereal or, at best, oatmeal. I promptly made a vow never to toss a boiled potato again.

This little story brings me to the point that we don’t have to waste as much food as we do. It’s so common for people (including me) to get carried away at the farmer’s market and buy more veggies that one can consume (or have the energy to cut up).

When I was in Sweden, I found a book with tips on how to save the food, but I didn’t buy it. However, a quick Google search turns up Love Food, Hate Waste, a site with resources on how to save food. How convenient!

Here are a few ideas that I came up with as I was pondering this post today:

Prevention is always best. Buy less! You know yourself. If you can never finish that cabbage, don’t buy it. Or buy a smaller head.

Didn’t use up all the half & half when you made that casserole over the weekend? Make some omelets! Add slices of green pepper and ham or sauté some mushrooms prior to adding the eggs to the pan.

Bought more berries than you can eat during berry season? Berries are super easy to freeze. Use them later for a smoothie or a healthy dessert (make it more fun, but less healthy, by adding some vanilla ice cream).

Bring fruit/veggies to work. It’s a nice change from the typical processed food that ends up on the office kitchen counter. Today at our office, somebody brought grapes and blueberries. Nice!

Invite some hungry friends over!

If you ended up with lots of leftovers after a party, consider donating the food to a food pantry or homeless shelter.